Kellyanne Conway on Sexual Assault: “If women were physiologically as strong as men, rape would not exist”

Kellyanne Conway on Sexual Assault: “If women were physiologically as strong as men, rape would not exist”

In a conversation that had absolutely nothing to do with rape, but rather women in combat, Conway made a strange leap into her views on rape during a PBS To The Contrary segment in 2013.

“Women are already making incredible contributions to the United States military and will continue to do so,” she opined. “But the military’s first and primary mission is to win wars and to be as completely as capable and efficient and uber-ready as it can be. But we also don’t want to put our women in harm’s way.”

When other panel members pointed out that women who pass the physical exam should have the same rights as men, Conway brought up the issue of rape, completely unprompted.

“If you are suggesting that physical fitness experts say it’s different, I’ll accept that,” she said. “Except to say that we should not have the girl’s version and the boy’s version of that physical fitness test.”

“But I’ll tell you,” Conway added. “If we were physiologically — not mentally, emotionally, professionally — equal to men, if we were physiologically as strong as men, rape would not exist. You would be able to defend yourself and fight him off.”

According to the CNN report, Conway’s remarks have been brought back to light by anti-Trump super-pac, Democratic Coalition Against Trump (DCAT).

“Most people who think like Donald Trump would only express their views in private, because they’re shameful,” The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead said in a statement from the super PAC. “But not Kellyanne Conway. Not Eric Trump, when he said that Ivanka wouldn’t allow herself to be subject to sexual harassment. And certainly not Donald Trump himself.”

“They seem to think it’s acceptable to blame rape victims for their assaults, deny women the right to control their own health care, and downplay sexual harassment in the workplace. It’s not.”